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Angela Davis is latest Black target of Israel lobby

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has canceled its annual gala at which iconic Black scholar and activist Angela Davis was to receive a prestigious human rights award.

Randall Woodfin, the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, expressed his “dismay” at the decision, which he said came “after protests from our local Jewish community and some of its allies.”

“The reactive decision of the BCRI did not create an opportunity for necessary consensus dialogue,” Woodfin added.

Davis is the latest prominent Black intellectual and outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights to be targeted by the Israel lobby.

Roy S. Johnson, a columnist for several Alabama newspapers, revealed Monday that those demanding the cancellation were “primarily – though not exclusively – from the city’s Jewish leadership, according to a source familiar with a decision that transpired quickly, and stunningly, in a span of just a few days.”

Last month, Southern Jewish Life, a communal publication serving southern states, ran an article criticizing the BCRI for honoring Davis, claiming that she is “an outspoken voice in the boycott-Israel movement, and advocates extensively on college campuses for the isolation of the Jewish state, saying Israel engages in ethnic cleansing and is connected to police violence against African Americans in the United States.”

The Birmingham Jewish Federation was reportedly among the groups that pressured BCRI.

Others who pressured BCRI to ditch Davis reportedly included General Charles Krulak, a retired Marine commander and former president of Birmingham-Southern College.

Support for Palestinians

Angela Davis, a Birmingham native, has long been an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights and an advocate of the BDS – boycott, divestment and sanctions – movement to hold Israel accountable for its violations and crimes against Palestinians.

Davis has also stood up for Rasmea Odeh, the Palestinian activist and torture survivor deported from the US in 2017 following a conviction for immigration fraud.

Adam Milstein, a major financier of anti-Palestinian groups, took note of the BCRI’s decision on Twitter:

Milstein was named in a censored Al Jazeera documentary about the Israel lobby leaked by The Electronic Intifada in November, as a founder and financier of the anti-Palestinian smear website Canary Mission.

“In late December, supporters and other concerned individuals and organizations, both inside and outside of our local community, began to make requests that we reconsider our decision,” BCRI added, without naming or further characterizing the groups or their objections.

“Upon closer examination of Ms. Davis’ statements and public record, we concluded that she unfortunately does not meet all of the criteria on which the award is based,” BCRI stated.

“Therefore, on 4 January, BCRI’s Board voted to rescind its invitation to Ms. Davis to honor her with the Shuttlesworth Award.”

Targeting Black voices

Davis is the second high-profile Black intellectual to be targeted by pro-Israel lobby pressure in recent weeks.

Temple University also faced pressure from the Zionist Organization of America to dismiss Hill as a professor – a step it has not taken amid warnings that this would violate Hill’s First Amendment rights.

Hill called BCRI’s decision to withdraw its award from Davis “shameful.”

Hill is one of many people expressing consternation at BCRI’s decision to disinvite Davis who is widely recognized as a groundbreaking Black radical theorist, prison abolitionist and anti-racism activist who throughout her life has faced institutional pressure and persecution for her stances.

Very disappointing that Birmingham Civil Rights Institute decided to rescind its decision to honor Angela Davis. Calling to boycott Israel for violating int’l law and human rights is not only a constitutionally protected right, but also the right thing to do. #IStandWithAngelahttps://t.co/pUlZQ2h3HR

To argue that Angela Davis is unworthy of a civil rights award is beyond shameful. And to dance around the fact that it’s due to her outspoken support of Palestinian rights makes it outrageous. https://t.co/dC2yplrFYE

Alabama columnist Roy S. Johnson also condemned the decision as an insult to the memory of Fred Shuttlesworth, the preacher and leader in the struggle against segregation for whom the BCRI award is named.

Shuttlesworth, Johnson wrote, “would not have bowed to anyone trying to dissuade him from honoring someone who fought the same fight – even if they fought with a different fervor, even if they were decidedly more revolutionary.”

But by disinviting Davis, Johnson added, “one of our most venerable cultural institutions, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, did just that – it crumbled.”

Comments

BCRI and others are pronouncing themselves irrelevant. Hopefully there are/will be better associations to channel American passion for justice which is feeling unrepresented (to say the least) and more restless with these insults.

Coincidentally, Mondoweiss reports that the zionist PR machine in the US advises its minions to lie about their main agenda when trying to build relationships with Black American civil rights groups (https://mondoweiss.net/2019/01...) because "if it's the main thing, Israel is defined by its problem".
Kinda hard to hide the "problem" when you name BDS as your reason for discrimination against a massive Black civil rights heroine being honored by a purported Black civil rights organization. The upside is everybody will hear about it.

The Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth’s award and what he and it standards for is not ugly! Rescinding the award is “ugly”. Please don’t dishonor Dr. Davis or Rev Shuttlesworth with such language! Both are true hero’s.

This newest insult to a courageous hero for civil rights is more than outrageous. We have to protest loudly. Nevertheless, we take hope, because its very outrageousness tells us that Israel and its Zionist friends are terrified by BDS, and so, again, as in the case of S. Africa, non-violent resistance works!!!

The quote from the Southern Jewish Life article is quite revealing. Angela Davis is accused of being “an outspoken voice in the boycott-Israel movement, and advocates extensively on college campuses for the isolation of the Jewish state, saying Israel engages in ethnic cleansing and is connected to police violence against African Americans in the United States.”

The language of denunciation has finally converged with that of liberation: Israel's defenders are now so intellectually impoverished and self-deluded that they fail to recognize their list of Professor Davis' offenses constitutes an objective though by no means comprehensive summary of the Jewish state's crimes. Everything she's charged with saying in this bill of particulars is demonstrably, unambiguously true. But apparently the author believes that no one who could remotely be described as well-informed accepts the validity of these statements and positions. At the same time, it's no longer considered advisable to contest them in argument- merely to act shocked at the ill-grace displayed in introducing facts to the discussion.

It's always been the practice in Zionist circles to distort and lie about their opponents. Here's a new twist- the unvarnished truth is reflexively antisemitic. Citing matters of established fact and adopting positions in accordance with them disqualifies the speaker from access to both audience and honors. Which results in conferring a greater distinction on Professor Davis than any she'd have received at the hands of those who've now disinvited her.

For the Lobby, this isn't just a matter of shooting yourself in the foot. It's mistaking your head for your foot and still pulling the trigger.

No one caught the Anti-BDS Law just passed in Congress (in the midst of a so-called shut down, one sees the priorities of US puppets bought by AIPAC).
Its legal to boycott any country or corp- including American- but not this tiny little foreign mafia which leeches BILLIONs from us? Incredible.
AIPAC already imposes a loyalty oath on Congress. I'll be damned if I submit to pledge of allegiance to ANY foreign entity- UK, EU, NWO, Canada, Israel or the Pope.
REFUSE this zionist loyalty yoke as the unconstitutional criminal act it is!

Ms Davis has a 1sthand understanding of racism, apartheid &genocide. Black men & women don’t repeat the same crimes against those that committed them. Zionists claim to also have this understanding & experience yet have outdone crimes & bigotry they claim were committed against them.